Pyrophoric lighter



De 23, 1958 A. B. GELLMAN PYROPHORIC LIGHTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.28, 1957 lllllllllllll o A B wea/d Dec. 23, 1958 A. B. GELLMAN 2,855,185

PYRoPHoRIc LIGHTER Filed Jan. 28, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PYROPHORICLIGHTER Allen B. Gellman, Glencoe, Ill.

Application January 28, 1957, Serial No. 636,819 4 Clarins. (Cl. S7-7.1)

This invention is concerned with an improved pyrophoric lighter.

This application is a continuation-impart of copending Gellmanapplication, Serial No. 543,811, filed October 31, 1955 which is acontinuation-in-part of copending Gellrnan application, Serial No.444,492, filed July 20, 1954, now Patent Number 2,791,110 issued May 7,1957.

One feature of this invention is that the lighter includes an abradantwheel and means for rotating the wheel, a pyrophoric element holderadjacent the wheel which is adapted to have a pyrophoric element thereinbear against the wheel and a resiliently urged movable lever meanshaving one end normally bearing against the pyrophoric element, thelever means being adapted to be lockedrout of engagementwiththepyrophoric elementlto facilitate changing the element.

Anotherfeature ofrthis invention isa lighter such-as that describedabove wherein aspring means'is arranged to bearagainst the movable levermeans' to urge one end of the lever means resiliently against thepyrophoric element, and the spring means is also adapted to lock thelever meanstout of engagement with the pyrophoric element to facilitatechanging the element.

Still anotherfeature of the lighter of this invention is theV provisionof a iiint follower adapted for engagement with the Vpyrophoric elementin the holder. and a spring having two end portions and an intermediatepoint offllexure, one of the end portions bearingh against the follower,the other end portion bearing against a surface in the lighter, and thepoint of flexure being spaced from the pivotal mounting of the follower,said spring arranged to effectively move the area of engagement of thefollower with the spring toward the point of flexure as the followerrotates due to wear of the pyrophoric element with resulting yielding ofthe spring in order.to increase the effective leverage of the followerto compensate at least in part for the yielding of the spring.

Yet a further feature of this invention is the provision in a lighter ofa mechanical assembly including means for igniting fuel, an intermediateportionarranged to support the mechanical assembly including a means forholding-fuel and a means for feeding the fuel to the igniting means, andan outer portionl arranged totelescopically receive the `intermediateportion `in a substantially permanent manner wherein theintermediatefportion has a fuel filling opening andanother openingarranged to be nite States Pater covered by -theouter portion forfacilitating the insertion of the means for holding fuel and the meansfor feeding the fuel.

' Modern pyrophoric lighters such as those described in my copendingapplications have a flint follower which is arranged to be urged underspring pressure against a pyrophoric element or flint to provide thenecessarycontact of theA flint and a rotatable abradantwheel. Thus whenthe abradant wheel is rotated a spark willl be provided which willignite agfuel source.` Naturally, the

' pyrophoric element tends to wear away 421S the v lighter isl FatentedDec. 23, 1958 used making it necessary to change the element from timeto time. In such a changing operation, it is necessary to move the flintfollower away from the pyrophoric element holder against the springpressure. It is often somewhat difficult to do this and in fact, may beeven painful to the operator because of the relatively small size of theparts. In the pyrophoric lighter of` this invention, means are providedfor effectively locking the flint follower out of contact with thepyrophoric element thus facilitating the changing of therpyrophoricelement.

Moreover, as the pyrophoric element wears away, the rotation of theflint follower causes a relative decrease in the force of the spring.The flint follower of this invention is so arranged that its effectivelever arm will be increased during the wearing away thus compensating inpart-for the decrease in the force of the spring.

Another difficult problem, which faces manufacturers of pyrophoriclighters, is the insertion of an absorbent substance such as cotton forholding the fuel as well as the insertion of a wick in the lightercasing for carrying the fuel. This is so because of its relatively smallopening normally available for inserting these necessary components. Thepyrophoric lighter of this invention is so constructed that thesenecessary components may be easily inserted through the open bottom ofan inner shell which is then closed by being substantially permanentlyreceived in an outer shell.

Further features and advantages of thisinvention wiil readily beapparent from the following specification and from the drawings inwhich:

Figure 1 is -a vertical sectional View of a lighter embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is an exploded side elevational View of the lighter shown inFigure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view of the flint follower and spring shown inFigure l showing one position of the follower;

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 showing another position of thefollower;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing yet another position ofthe follower;

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the end of the follower andthe spring in the position of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along theline 7 7 of Figure l.

Turning now to the drawings, the lighter 10 is.con structed in threesections, an outer shell 11, an inner shell 12 and a mechanical assembly13. For clearness of description, these sections will be consideredseparately.

The outer shell 11 is constructed of a thin lightweight material such asdrawn aluminum. The outer shell `is open at the top 11a` and is arrangedto receive the inner shell 12therein. The side walls 11b of the outershell 11 are arranged to extend above'the top deck 12a of the innershell 12.

The inner shell 12 is also constructed of a light-weight material suchas drawn aluminum and is carefully dimensioned so that once it isinserted in the outer shell 11 a tight fit will result which willprovide a substantially permanent arrangement of these two sections. Theinner shell 12 is hollow with an open bottom 12b through whichan-absorbent fuel carrying material such as cotton 14 may be inserted. Acloth or other typewick 15 may also be inserted through the bottomopening 12a. The end 15a of the wick 15 is drawn thro-ugh the wick boss16 which is held firmly in place in the top deck 12a by means of athreaded portion 16a which is screwed in an aperture 12j in the top deck12a. A fuel filling opening 12a` is provided in the top deck 12a whichis closed by the mechanical assembly 13 as will berdescribed later.- Therear portion of the top deck 12a is upwardly turned to form a projection12d having an inwardly struck portion 12e at the top. The projection 12dis used to secure the mechanical assembly 13.

The lighter of this invention is thus simple to assemble. Themanufacturer need only insert the wick 15 through the open bottom 12b ofthe inner shell 12, pulling the end 15a of the wick through the wickboss 16. This is relatively easy to do since the opening 12b is largeenough to permit access. Then the cotton 14 is packed in through theopening 12b and arranged to surround the wick 15. This is also simple todo because of the size of the opening 12b.

The filled inner shell 12 is then inserted in the outer shell 11. Sincethese parts are made to relatively close tolerance, the telescopic iit,one within the other, is snug, thus preventing evaporation of fuel oraccidental separation of the shells which is almost never necessary.Fuel may be added, when desired, through the opening 12C.

The mechanical assembly 13 is mounted on a cradle or frame 17 which isprovided with upstanding sides 17a preferably conforming with theconfiguration of the walls 11b of the outer shell. The rear portion 17aof the cradle 17 is turned upwardly for engagement with the portion 12eat the rear of the lighter. The forward end of the cradle 17 is alsobent upwardly at 17b and a tab 17e extends forwardly therefrompermitting the user to remove the mechanical assembly by lifting up onthe tab. A resilient block 18 is carried by the cradle 17 and seals thelilling opening 12C when the mechanical assembly is in place preventingevaporation of the lighter fuel.

A pyrophoric element or flint 19 is carried by a flint block 20 and isurged against abradant wheel 21 by a flint follower 22 under the inuenceof a spring 23. A11 elongated operating member 24 is pivotally mountedon a pin 2S at the rear of the cradle. Depression of the operatingmember causes rotation of the snuiier cap 26 about pivot pin 27,uncovering the end 15a of the wick projecting out of the wick boss 16. Apawl plate (not shown) turns with the snufer cap 26 effecting rotationof the abradant wheel 21 thus directing a spark from the flint 19 towardthe wick end 15a. On release of the operating member 24, both it and thesnulfer cap return to the position shown in Figure l under the operationof the spring 23. Depressible operating member 24 is U- shaped incross-section having depending flanges 24a which fit inside theupstanding walls 17a of the cradle. A more detailed disclosure of theabove-described mechanical assembly will be found in my copendingapplications.

The iiint follower 22 is an elongated lever pivotally mounted on a pin2S at a point intermediate the ends of the lever. End portion 22a of thefollower is finished at a suitable angle to engage the flint 19. A thumbpiece 22d is provided on the bottom of the follower 22 for use inremoving the follower from contact with the flint 19. The spring 23,which serves both as the flint spring and also as the operating memberreturn spring, is roughly U-shaped in configuration and has a tirst endportion 23a which bears against the underside of the operating member 24and a second end portion 23b which rides in a groove 22e in the end 22bof the liint follower remote from the flint. A point of exure for thespring 23 indicated generally as 23e is intermediate the ends thereof.The spring is preferably coiled at the point of flexure, theA coil beingwound about pivot pin 25. Thus as the flint 19 wears away, the spring 23will tend to straighten about the point 23C (unwinding the coil) and theend 22b of the follower 22 will slide toward the pivot pin 25. Thisincreases the mechanical advantage of the flint followeI` system andcompensates, at least partially, for the decrease in spring force due tothe unwinding of the coil at 23C. It should be noted that when thelighter is operated, depression of the operating member 24 compressesspring 23 increasing the force on the flint 19 after l l abradant wheel21 has started to turn. This increases the spark output of the lighterbut insures easy starting as the pressure of the int on the wheel is theleast at the start.

The follower 22 is arranged to be locked out of contact with the flint19 in order to facilitate the changing thereof. This may easily be doneby applying an upward force in the direction indicated by the arro-w inFigure 5 on the thumb piece 22d thus rotating the follower 22 away fromthe int 19 until the direction of force of the spring 23 on the end ofthe follower 22b passes dead center at which time the follower will beheld in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The thumb piece22d is constructed so as to be wider than the slot 17d in the cradle 17through which the follower 22 rotates. The thumb piece 22d thus acts asa stop preventing the follower from being rotated further than isnecessary to achieve the desired result and holds it in the dottedposition shown in Figure l. A slightly curved end portion 23d isprovided at the end of the spring 23b which rides against the end 22b ofthe follower to provide an even more secure lock. The used iiint 19 maythen be removed and a new one easily inserted. In order to place thefollower 22 in operating position it is only necessary to apply a slightforce on the thumb piece 22b in a direction opposite that of the arrowshown in Figure 5 to snap the follower 22 back against the flint 19.

The progression of positions for the follower 22 is more clearly shownin Figures 3, 4 and 5. Thus Figure 3 shows the position of the followerwhen the ilint is new. Figure 4 shows the follower position as the flintwears away, the arrow indicating its direction of movement, and as theend 22b moves toward the point of exure 23C of the spring, reducing thelength of the spring arm and increasing the length of the lever arm ofthe follower 22 as the spring force decreases. Figure 5 shows thefollower locked out of position.

Having thus described my invention as related to the embodiments shownin the accompanying drawings, it is my intention that the invention benot limited by any of the details of description unless otherwisespecified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scopeas set out in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A pyrophoric lighter having an abradant wheel comprising: apyrophoric element holder adjacent said wheel and adapted to have apyrophoric element therein bear against said wheel; an operating memberarranged to be moved manually to rotate said wheel; a rotatable leverhaving one end normally bearing against said pyrophoric element; andspring means bearing against the other end of said lever and saidoperating member to hold said lever against said element and saidelement against said wheel and to return the member to the readyposition after use; said lever being adapted to be rotated away fromsaid element beyond the dead center so that the force of said springmeans locks said lever out of engagement with said element to facilitatechanging said element.

2. A pyrophoric lighter having an abradant wheel comprising: apyrophoric element holder adjacent said wheel and adapted to have apyrophoric element therein bear against said wheel; an operating memberarranged to be moved manually to rotate said wheel; a followercomprising an elongated lever pivotally mounted at a point intermediatethe ends thereof, one end of said follower adapted for engagement withsaid pyrophoric element in said holder; and a coiled torsion springhaving two end portions and an intermediate point of exure, one of saidend portions bearing against the other end of said follower to forcesaid follower against said element, the other end portion bearingagainst said operating member and adapted to return the member to theready position after use and the point of exure be- ,ing spaced from thepivotal mounting of said follower;

said follower being adapted to be rotated about said pivotal mountingaway from said element vbeyond the dead center so that the force of saidspring locks said lever out of engagement with said element tofacilitate changing said element.

3. The pyrophoric lighter of claim 2, wherein said follower includes astop adapted to abut against a surface in said lighter to limit therotation of said follower.

4. A pyrophoric lighter having an abradant wheel and means for rotatingsaid wheel, comprising: a pyrophoric element holder adjacent said wheeland adapted to have a pyrophoric element therein bear against saidwheel; a follower comprising an elongated lever pivotally mounted at apoint intermediate the ends thereof, one end of said follower beingadapted for engagement with said pyrophoric element in said holder; anda coiled torsion spring having two end portions and an intermediatepoint of exure, one of said end portions bearing against the other endof said follower to force said follower against said element, the otherend portion bearing against a surface in said lighter and the point ofllexure being spaced from the pivotal mounting of said follower; saidspring arranged to effectively move the area of engagement of the otherend of said follower with said spring toward said point of exure as thefollower rotates due to wear of the pyrophoric element with resultingyielding of the spring in order to increase the elective leverage of thefollower to compensate at least in part for said yielding.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,473,636 Campos June 21, 1949 2,479,244 Logan Aug. 16, 1949 2,587,894Quercia Mar. 4, 1952 2,617,286 Prusack Nov. 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS628,848 Great Britain Sept. 6, 1949

